Pandora Abandons Broadcast Radio With Sale Of South Dakota FM

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Abandoning its foray into "regular" radio broadcasting, PANDORA FM LLC is selling Hot AC KXMZ (HITS 102.7)/BOX ELDER-RAPID CITY, SD to HOUSTON HAUGO's HAUGO BROADCASTING, INC. for $300,000.  PANDORA, which bought the station for $600,000 from CONNOISSEUR MEDIA in 2015 after a battle to get the FCC to grant a conditional waiver of the Commission's foreign ownership restrictions, signaled in MAY 2016 that it was considering selling the station when it asked the Commission for consent to delay making a necessary filing about its foreign ownership because it was mulling a sale.  While it never explicitly stated why it bought the station in the first place, PANDORA was assumed by terrestrial competitors to be trying to take advantage of a copyright law loophole to allow the streaming music provider to obtain broadcasters' rates rather than the higher pure-play streamer rates.

In other filings with the FCC, AURIO A. MATOS BARRETO's LA MAS Z RADIO, INC. is swapping Spanish Oldies WTIL-A/MAYAGUEZ, PR to WIFREDO G. BLANCO-PI for JEAN PAUL VISSEPO's IBC DIVESTITURE TRUST's Jazz WBYM-A/BAYAMON, PR.  The deal also involves ANGEL ROMAN LOPEZ's INTERNATIONAL BROADCASTING CO. receiving land and equipment at the site of Spanish News-Talk WAPA-A/SAN JUAN in CAROLINA, PR from BLANCO-PI and permission to relocate WGIT-A to that site and build a transmitter building, and IBC may sell or rent (at $600/month) the WBYM site to LA MAS Z.

Applying for engineering STAs were SUN MOUNTAIN, INC. for KBSR-A/LAUREL, MT (lost site, seeking to return at emergency site before license expires on THURSDAY); HISPANIC COMMUNITY COLLEGE for KBIB-A/MARION, TX (reduced power "due to aging and failing components"); FALLS MEDIA, LLC for KXXN/IOWA PARK, TX (use of a backup site while a shelter at the main site is replaced); and TBLC KANSAS CITY STATIONS, LLC for Spanish Religion KCZZ-A (RADIO LUZ 1480)/MISSION, KS-KANSAS CITY (250 watt daytime/125 watt nighttime nondirectional operation while construction of diplexing of sister Regional Mexican KDTD-A (LA GRANDE 1340 AM) proceeds).

Seeking a Silent STAs was PEOPLE FOR JESUS RADIO BROADCASTING COMPANY for WPJB-LP/SELMA, AL (equipment malfunctions).

GRACE PUBLIC RADIO has closed on the sale of noncommercial Oldies-Jazz KILE-F/WOODLAND PARK, CO to THE COLORADO COLLEGE for $24,000.

MKHANGROUP, LLC has closed on the sale of K241BQ/FORT MCDOWELL, AZ to RIVIERA BROADCASTING, LLC for $230,000.

And CALVARY RADIO NETWORK, INC. has closed on the sale of W276BM/PARK FOREST, IL to POLNET COMMUNICATIONS, LTD. for $135,000.  The buyer is rebroadcasting Polish WRDZ-A (POLSKIE RADIO)/LA GRANGE-CHICAGO on the translator.

In a closing yet to appear in the FCC database, MANNING BROADCASTING, INC. has closed on the sale of W228AB/PARAMOUNT, MD (now W227DJ/RICHMOND) to RADIO ONE LICENSES, LLC (URBAN ONE) for $40,000.  The buyer is moving the translator to rebroadcast News-Talk WTPS-A/RICHMOND.  PATRICK COMMUNICATIONS' JASON JAMES served as broker for the seller.

Also, iHEARTMEDIA's AMFM BROADCASTING LICENSES, LLC has filed an informal objection to DISNEY's ABC RADIO LOS ANGELES ASSETS, LLC's operation of K256CX/BEAUMONT, CA with parameters that it says have not yet been approved by the FCC.  The translator, rebroadcasting Country KRDC-A (RADIO DISNEY COUNTRY 99.1)/PASADENA-LOS ANGELES, has a permit to change its parameters but iHEART says that according to an inspection by iHEART/RIVERSIDE Chief Engineer RICK MENA accompanied by photos of the antenna, the translator is operating with parameters from a pending modification application and is interfering with its co-channel Top 40/Rhythmic KGGI/RIVERSIDE-SAN BERNARDINO.  MENA alleges in his statement that "ABC planned a launch of its new Country format for JUNE 9th... thus providing an incentive to begin operations of the Translator by that date."

The Commission cancelled the license of WORLD HARVEST COMMUNICATIONS, INC. for Gospel WKMB-A (HARVEST RADIO)/STIRLING, NJ, the latest cancellation for "Red Light" delinquency in paying Commission fines.

And the Commission has fined CONROY DAWSON $25,000 for operating an unlicensed station ("WBLR - BIG LINK 97.5 FM") on 97.5 FM in PATERSON, NJ.  DAWSON received a warning and agreed to take his station off the air, but then it returned it to the air; he claimed that he operates the station as an internet stream and was the victim of a pirate rebroadcasting his stream, an argument the Commission said it did "not find... persuasive."

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